Are you one of the many iPhone and iPod touch owners who was unfairly denied warranty service when your device incorrectly indicated water damage? While the settlement has yet to be approved by the court, you can start signing up now to get your chunk of the proposed $53 Million settlement. Of course, the lawyers are taking about $16 million of that for their services first.
If you’re one of the folks who have a payment coming to them, and Apple estimates there are “approximately 153,105” of you, a website has opened up that will allow you to stake your claim. Apple agreed to the $53 Million payout in May, and the settlement’s pending final approval in the court.
The settlement payouts should range from $105 and $300 based on “the average amounts paid to Apple for replacement of each device type and configuration,” according to the settlement’s text.
You can read an excerpt from the class action suit below, and the full text is available here. If you feel you’re qualified to be a member of the settlement, you can make your claim here.
The settlement will provide $53 million for cash payments to iPhone or iPod touch owners who were denied warranty coverage
because Apple stated their devices had been damaged by liquid; Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees and expenses; and incentive
awards to the Class Representatives. The settlement also provides that Apple will separately pay the costs of providing notice and
administering the settlement.
To be eligible for a cash payment: (a) you must be a United States resident who is or was the owner of an iPhone or iPod touch;
(b) which was submitted to Apple for warranty coverage on or before December 31, 2009, for an iPhone, or on or before
June 30, 2010, for an iPod touch; (c) your iPhone or iPod touch must have been within the time limits of Apple’s one-year limited
warranty coverage or, if applicable, the AppleCare Protection Plan at the time it was submitted to Apple for warranty coverage;
and (d) Apple denied warranty coverage because Apple stated that your iPhone or iPod touch had been damaged by liquid.
The amount of the cash payment will vary. Please see the information and chart listed below in section No. 11 concerning
payment amounts.
Certain Settlement Class Members, called “Direct-Payment Settlement Class Members,” are eligible to receive a cash payment
without submitting a Claim Form. If the Settlement Administrator has all the information necessary to process your cash payment
under the settlement, you will be sent a notice (by U.S. mail or email) advising that you are a Direct-Payment Settlement Class
Member. You must ensure that the Settlement Administrator has your current mailing address in order to receive a
check. See section No. 12, below, for instructions on how to provide a current address.
If you do not receive notice that you are a Direct-Payment Settlement Class Member, you must submit a valid, timely Claim Form
in order to receive a cash payment. For instructions, see section Nos. 12-14 below.
Court-appointed lawyers for the Settlement Class will ask the Court to award up to 30% of the Settlement Fund (up to
$15,900,000) as fees and expenses for investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the settlement.
[Via: The Register]